Corporate Identity vs. Brand Identity: What Is the Difference?

When most people go to buy a product or service, they’ll look for a brand they recognize to purchase from. This is where corporate and brand identity comes in. Although these terms may be used interchangeably, there are some differences between them. For marketers, it’s crucial to understand the difference between corporate and brand identity and how to develop both to attract customers and stay relevant. Here, we discuss the differences between corporate identity and brand identity and when to use both.

What Is Corporate Identity?

Corporate identity refers to the actions and behaviors of a company, which impact how the public views it. It is a broad compilation that helps determine the individuality of the company as a whole. It is made up of several different parts, including:

• Behavior: The behavior of a corporation refers to how it conducts itself, including its mission statement, philosophy, company culture, ethics, values, etc. This behavior impacts the public’s perception of the company, including customers and stakeholders.
• Communication: The way a company communicates affects how customers view them. Corporate communication can include tone of voice, type of content, method of communication, marketing tools, and more.
• Design: The design of a company includes visual elements like the company name, logo, color palette, typography, packaging, taglines, etc. Having a distinct company visual design helps a business stand out and be remembered.

These components make up a company’s corporate identity, which impacts brand guidelines, corporate branding materials, brand personality, marketing strategies, and more. A strong corporate identity is essential to being recognized by its target audience, differentiating itself from competitors, and building trust and loyalty with customers and stakeholders.

What Is Brand Identity?

Brand identity also helps to create a consistent and unique brand image for a company, but it is narrower in its scope. While corporate identity focuses on who the company is overall, brand identity aims to communicate its personality to customers, so they connect with it. A company’s brand identity doesn’t necessarily include the corporate culture and brand’s values, but rather the visual and verbal expression of it. It includes brand design elements like:

• Logo
• Tagline
• Color schemes
• Fonts
• Imagery
• Letterheads
• Graphic design elements
• Design style
• Tone of voice
• Messaging

By using elements that are recognizable on marketing materials, social media, emails, and more, a company is able to be distinguished from competitors and perceived positively. It can also help enhance customer loyalty and trust.

Corporate Identity vs. Brand Identity: Which Is more important?

A large corporation has one corporate identity with one logo, mission statement, and company culture. However, it can have several brands underneath that corporate identity that each have their own brand identity. Both corporate and brand identity are important for a business, but you may wonder if one is more important.

Brand Identity

Both types are crucial to a company’s success, but brand identity may be more important in terms of customer loyalty and brand awareness. This is because brand identity represents how customers will view a company and its products, directly impacting buying decisions. It also helps differentiate a company from other similar businesses. Other benefits of a strong brand identity include:

• Nurturing positive emotional connections with customers, leading to repeat purchases
• Providing strong brand recognition:
• Ability to increase prices because of the high perceived quality
• Improving the effectiveness of marketing campaigns

Some potential cons of having a strong brand identity are the risk of negative associations if the identity is misused and the challenges of adaptation in a changing market if the brand is too rigid.

Corporate Identity

This doesn’t mean that corporate identity isn’t vital — corporate identity plays a large role in how stakeholders view a company. It is based more on the internal company values and behaviors of a business that are less visible to the public. Therefore, some people may see it as less important. However, a strong corporate identity provides several benefits, such as:

• Enhancing the corporation’s reputation and value
• Attracting top employee talent
• Improved communication and consistency with customers and stakeholders
• Potential to expand due to brand awareness and customer loyalty

However, having a strong corporate identity can also be costly to maintain, and it must be maintained consistently. It can also lead to less flexibility if a company is looking to rebrand and can even isolate loyal customers if it’s changed.

When to Focus on Your Brand or Corporate Identity

Brand and corporate identities are vital to the success of a business, but there are certain times or situations when a company should prioritize one over the other.

Brand Identity

A company should concentrate on developing its brand identity from the very start of its existence. This is because some of the most recognizable parts of any business are within its brand identity, like the logo design, tagline, and fonts. By focusing on these elements from the beginning, a company can create a clear and familiar name for itself that helps it stand out from competitors. It also establishes a foundation for future marketing efforts and materials.

Think of iconic brands like Apple, Nike, and Coca-Cola. Their logos and fonts are memorable and distinct to their identity. They also have strong customer loyalty and brand awareness, even among people who don’t use their products. The strong brand identities these companies have is to thank.

Other situations when focusing on brand identity is essential are when:

• The market is highly competitive with several similar products and services, to attract potential customers
• Customers are heavily influenced by trends and emotions, as brand identity can impact the user experience
• Launching a new product or service that needs to be recognized by potential customers

Brand loyalty and awareness are key to staying relevant during these periods.

Corporate Identity

Some parts of a corporate identity, like the mission statement and visual identity, should be established from the beginning. However, there are some situations that a corporation must focus on or adapt its corporate identity. This is often done when a company must prove itself as a consistent and noteworthy presence for customers and stakeholders. The situations include:

• Market expansion: If a company is aiming to expand into a new market, a clear and consistent corporate identity can help it adapt to different audiences while maintaining core values and stakeholder trust.
• Rebranding, mergers, or acquisitions: If a company is going through major changes, its image or target market may also change. Therefore, maintaining a focus on corporate identity is vital to guide the transformation and keep existing customers.
• Reputation management crisis: When a company is dealing with a crisis that can impact its reputation, a consistent corporate identity can help rebuild consumer trust and boost credibility.

How Marcom Can Help You Create a Brand or Corporate Identity

Having a strong brand and corporate identity is crucial to the success of any company. If your business is lacking, turn to MarcomCentral for help. Our solutions support businesses of all sizes that want to achieve effective marketing outcomes and develop stronger brand images and identities. Request a demo today to learn more about our brand strategy.